Yalla Habibi

What is a legacy? 

In the Hamilton musical, Lin Manuel Miranda said that it's 'planting seeds in a garden that you never get to see.'

Visiting Egypt for the first time, I couldn't help but marvel at what a legacy these people made. Could they have known that their structures would have stood the test of time and made people question everything. 

Seeing these marvels,  I wonder, what are we leaving behind for the next generations. What lasts? What survives? Are we just playing a really long game of telephone?

I still remember a conversation with my best friend from college talking about our goals in life and mine was to be in a history book one day, I said I would even take just being an author of one. I realize there’s a lot of ego in that statement. But I don’t think it’s bad to want my time on this earth to be impactful. But truly, you look at what the Egyptians left behind and talk about being remembered in the history books.

Many Egyptians would stop us and ask us where we were from. After responding with America, they’d in turn say no no, where are you really from. I'm so far removed from my pre-American heritage that my DNA can tell me where I came from, but it can't help me know my ancestor's stories.

Think of all the stories that have been lost and the names that have been forgotten. 

If I never get married and have children, what will be remembered of my time on this planet? Who will remember the ones who came before me? William Early Jones, my ancestor who was a judge in the Republic of Texas who had six sons that all became Texas Rangers, or Keziah who stood single-handedly and defended her children from an attack while her husband was away. 

Churchill said that history would be kind to him because he intended to write it. (Although, after learning more about the other side of some stories that statement feels much more sinister.) Is it our responsibility to guarantee we leave something worth marveling at behind?

What will we be remembered for? Our greatest success? Or our largest failure? To go back to Hamilton, we have no control over who tells our story.

So without turning too much to nihilism, it does make one wonder if it matters. Is being remembered important, is leaving behind a legacy important?

What will museums showcase 100 years from now? Dead iPhones? EV car batteries? NFTs?

Are we making anything of substance? 

Anything worth remembering?

As y'all know, I don't have answers to these musings, but that is what a week in Egypt stirred in my brain.

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Getting to go on a trip to Egypt was awe-inspiring. The trip started in Cairo where we immediately went to see The Great Pyramids. Which, wow, those things are BIG.

I don't have words.

After seeing the pyramids we hopped on some camels, for a panoramic view of Giza. Then we made a quick trip to the Egyptian museum, which has more artifacts than imaginable.  

Before leaving Cairo, we had the chance to visit various religious houses in the city. We started with a Coptic Church, then a Synagogue, and finally a Mosque.

For lunch, we had Koshari, the national dish of Egypt. Holy moly guacamole. That is good.

From there, we flew to Aswan to continue our journey across Egypt!

We started our time in Aswan by visiting the great dam, then drove to Philae - a temple for Isis and Osiris that was moved to accommodate the water changes from the construction of the dam. Our first day in Aswan ended with seeing the unfinished obelisk. WHOA. huge.

That evening we sailed down the Nile in a felucca boat, where we were serenaded by some young boys, Mari's dream!

The next day we drove HOURS to go to Abu Simbel. I don't love being in a car for hours on end, but it was worth it to see Ramses II's fabled temple along with his favorite wife, Nefertari, temple. The evening ended with drinks at the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan with some ol Ags.

The next day, we took the scenic route to Luxor, with stops at the Temple of Kom Ombo and the Temple of Edfu.

Was able to get McDonald's on this day - shout out to Rebecca for instilling that tradition in me.

 

Then it was March, and it was hot. Our first full day in Luxor started with a wee morning wake-up call to get on a hot air balloon over Luxor. 100% worth it. That was one of the most magical experiences of my life.

After a quick breakfast break, we went to the Valley of the Kings. Did I mention it was hot? We visited four tombs; Ramses III, IV, V, VI, & IX. Please note that Ramses V and VI shared a tomb. King Tut was also buried here, but since he wasn't Pharaoh that long, his tomb is not very well decorated.

We visited Queen Hatshepsut's temple next, there was very little shade, which was rough. lol. Then a quick stop to the Valley of the Queens. Our last stop of the day was visiting the Memnon statues in Luxor.

Our last full day in Luxor was very chill. We visited the Karnak temple and the Luxor temple. Karnak had me gobsmacked. 

I can't imagine seeing these marvels in their full glory. Can you imagine what these things must have looked like when they were fully painted?! Stunning.

Our last day involved traveling back to Cairo to fly back home.

I was lucky enough to have the chance to visit with one of my Judge classmates, Youssef before flying back to the States. There is such a special bond that we all share and it makes me so excited to reunite with everyone at graduation next month!

This Egypt trip was such a special graduation trip and I am so grateful for the chance to visit this magical place.